MY DAYS OF MERCY

Director: Tali Shalom-Ezer

108, R

Screenwriter: Joe Barton

Cast: Ellen Page, Kate Mara, Amy Seimetz, Brian Geraghty.

 

September’s Queer Thursdays pick is an unconventional lesbian romance, set against warring families on either side of the death penalty debate. Ellen Page (Juno, Inception) belongs to a Midwestern clan; her father is on Death Row for (supposedly) killing her mother. The remaining relatives protest outside the prison every time an execution looms. And it is here that Page meets a flirty young woman (Kate Mara of Fantastic Four), whose family is there to cheer on the Biblical punishment about to take place. In spite of everything, their chemistry is palpable, as they negotiate love in the time of corrosive division.

“I guess it’s hard because I want to be like, ‘Come see these queer characters!’ and at the same time be like, ‘No, it’s not just a queer film!’”– Ellen Page.